Improvement in buckets for paddle-wheels



ntmi (State-a time (anni.

ALFRED C. LOI ID,CF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0 -IIIM- SELF AND W. J. MILLER., OF SAME PLACE.

.Leners Patent N0. 106,704, @ma ingest 23, 1570.-

' IMPROVEMENT 1N :Bocas-xerox ramone-WHEELS.

- The Schedule referred to iu these Letters Patent and making'part of the same To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED C. LOUD, of San Francisco, in the count-y of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and improved Bucket for the Propellng-Wheels of Vessels; and I do hereby declare the -following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying .drawing making a part of this specification, in which the figure' is a view in perspective.

'There are certain well-known obstacles which pref veut the perfect workingot' the paddle-wheels and screws, as commonly constructed, of steam-vessels.

One of these is the liitin'g of water hy'the buckets ,or blades as they emerge, the duid thus lifted no t' structed of parallel bars, with spaces between them', or of perforated plates, or of bars formed intolat-` tice-work, or in any other manner in which a bucket or blade may be produced', which shall present aseries'of openings through which water may pass, alter-` nating with a, series'of surfaces against vwhich water may react, when such openings, whether they be'in the shape of perforations in plates or of intervals betweenbars, lie at right angles with the planeof the buckets, or paddles, in order that, while the buckets are passing through the water, thewater may How through the openings, as hereinafter described.

In the drawinga. are the radial arms, and

b, the annular rims ot'an ordinary paddle-wheel.

c are round rods placed at intervals parallel with each other and with the shaft A of the wheel, and connecting thethree arms a, which lie in the same plane, so as to-forln a.` bucket, of .the kind above described, at' the outer ends ofthe arms.- l

' d are similar rods, placed at intervals parallell with each other, and with another set of the arms e, at the outer extremities of -which they form a bucket' differing from Vthe preceding only inthe position of its bars, the Ysame being at right angles with the shaft A instead Qfpai'allel-withit, and attached at vtheir ends to'crossf'iiars4 c, which connectfthe arms Vu 'of -this set. Y

f is a bucket at the outer extremity of a third set of the varms a,- thesaid bucket being constructed of' rods woven into lattice-work.

A fourth form ot' bucket might he a perforated 'plate'. f Y

, All these varieties fall within thesame species, and

maybe augmented by still others answering to the same general description. I will say, however, that I'consider the kind shown at;l c and d preferable to all others. Y It is also obvious that, when this bucket emerges from the water, it caulift but little of the liquid with it, andv what it does lift -will speedily flow back through the spaces, leaving the bucket free to rise without im-4 pediment.

This construction, moreover, obviates the jar-pro-y duced by the'common bucket, and causes the'vessel to lmove steadily'.

The surfaces of the rods against; which the-water acts are-j notl only those front ones which directly striketh lwater, butalso'the sides of the rodsagainst which the water `makes friction as it runs between them.;- lhis renders it Aunnecessary Vto'enlarge the.

areaof in'y improved bucket much beyondthat of the,

ordinary solid bucket, in order to obtain an equal reacting surface.` i

uInstead of awheel such as is here described, I might employ a drum provided at its periphery with any one or with all of the dii'erent kinds of 'buckets specilied. I-may also greatly increase the number of Vbuckets beyond'what-are usually' attached to one,

wheel, inasmuch as one vof the main objections to the use of many buckets, viz., their inutility, by reason of the scooping out of cavities inthe water, is obviate'd by my improved methodof construction'.

V'lhe rods of 'which the buckets are composed may be square,` lozenge, or otherwise shaped, as well as i cylindrical, though I am inclined to thinkthc cylin-` vdrical'form the best, owingftol the fact that'. it does' not break up the water so much as those rods which have sharp edges, and that it therefore derives greater force-therefrom.

The rods 'may be placed at anydesired 'anglcwith` the radial arms, and he of wood, iron, or any other suitable material.'

The width of the buckets may he varied at pleasure,as well asV their form, whether the same h e square,

oblong, lozenge. 0r whatever it lie.

The' blades of screw-propellers may be constructed on this same principle, viz., the principle of alternate bars. and spaces.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure byv Let- Y A paddle-Wheel bucket, constructed of bars placed .at intervals, or of perforated vplates, wh en .the inte vals between the bars or the openngs'in the plates or buckets lie at right angles with ,the plane of the bucket, substantially asde'scribed. A

To the above specification ofmy invention I have signedmy hand this 9th dayof July, A D. 1870.

A. C. LOUD. -Witnessesz Son'on O. KnMoN,

'THos. ,1). D. DURAND.- 

